Space

Astronauts travelling to Mars won’t be able to chat in real-time to therapists on Earth

SpaceX, a leading player in the private spaceflight industry, loses its third rocket, but vows to plough on
Read the rest here: Falcon 1 rocket fails to reach orbit

In their spare time, a group of engineers is developing an alternative to NASA’s Ares rockets - they want an independent review of their concept
Excerpt from:Moonlighting engineers design alternative NASA rocket

‘Lunar concrete’

Superconducting magnets could one day allow multiple spacecraft to fly in formation

Magnets could one day allow multiple spacecraft to fly in formation

Superconducting magnets could one day allow multiple spacecraft to fly in formation

A proposed space telescope focuses light primarily with a patterned sheet of metal

The troubled spacecraft’s last reaction wheel, which helps point the craft, has failed - it may not be able to limp back to Earth as planned
Here is the original: Hayabusa asteroid probe may never return to Earth

Japan’s troubled Hayabusa spacecraft might reach Earth in 2010 only to fail at the last minute, losing a capsule that may contain asteroid dust
Read the original post: Crippled probe may send cargo drifting into space